USN-618-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

19 June 2008

Overview

Linux kernel vulnerabilities


Details

It was discovered that the ALSA /proc interface did not write the
correct number of bytes when reporting memory allocations. A local
attacker might be able to access sensitive kernel memory, leading to
a loss of privacy. (CVE-2007-4571)

Multiple buffer overflows were discovered in the handling of CIFS
filesystems. A malicious CIFS server could cause a client system crash
or possibly execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. (CVE-2007-5904)

It was discovered that PowerPC kernels did not correctly handle reporting
certain system details. By requesting a specific set of information,
a local attacker could cause a system crash resulting in a denial
of service. (CVE-2007-6694)

It was discovered that some device driver fault handlers did not
correctly verify memory ranges. A local attacker could exploit...

It was discovered that the ALSA /proc interface did not write the
correct number of bytes when reporting memory allocations. A local
attacker might be able to access sensitive kernel memory, leading to
a loss of privacy. (CVE-2007-4571)

Multiple buffer overflows were discovered in the handling of CIFS
filesystems. A malicious CIFS server could cause a client system crash
or possibly execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. (CVE-2007-5904)

It was discovered that PowerPC kernels did not correctly handle reporting
certain system details. By requesting a specific set of information,
a local attacker could cause a system crash resulting in a denial
of service. (CVE-2007-6694)

It was discovered that some device driver fault handlers did not
correctly verify memory ranges. A local attacker could exploit this
to access sensitive kernel memory, possibly leading to a loss of privacy.
(CVE-2008-0007)

It was discovered that CPU resource limits could be bypassed.
A malicious local user could exploit this to avoid administratively
imposed resource limits. (CVE-2008-1294)

A race condition was discovered between dnotify fcntl() and close() in
the kernel. If a local attacker performed malicious dnotify requests,
they could cause memory consumption leading to a denial of service,
or possibly send arbitrary signals to any process. (CVE-2008-1375)

On SMP systems, a race condition existed in fcntl(). Local attackers
could perform malicious locks, causing system crashes and leading to
a denial of service. (CVE-2008-1669)


Update instructions

After a standard system upgrade you need to reboot your computer to effect the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

ATTENTION: Due to an unavoidable ABI change the kernel updates have been given a new version number, which requires you to recompile and reinstall all third party kernel modules you might have installed. If you use linux-restricted-modules, you have to update that package as well to get modules which work with the new kernel version. Unless you manually uninstalled the standard kernel metapackages (e.g. linux-386, linux-powerpc, linux-amd64-generic), a standard system upgrade will automatically perform this as well.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
7.10 gutsy linux-image-2.6.22-15-mckinley –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-generic –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-hppa32 –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-xen –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-sparc64-smp –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-powerpc –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-itanium –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-lpiacompat –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-386 –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-powerpc-smp –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-lpia –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-sparc64 –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-rt –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-virtual –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-server –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-powerpc64-smp –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-hppa64 –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-cell –  2.6.22-15.54
linux-image-2.6.22-15-ume –  2.6.22-15.54
7.04 feisty linux-image-2.6.20-17-hppa32 –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-386 –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-sparc64-smp –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-generic –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-hppa64 –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-lowlatency –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-mckinley –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-server-bigiron –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-server –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-powerpc64-smp –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-powerpc –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-powerpc-smp –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-sparc64 –  2.6.20-17.36
linux-image-2.6.20-17-itanium –  2.6.20-17.36
6.06 dapper linux-image-2.6.15-52-386 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-mckinley –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-amd64-server –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-hppa32 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-k7 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-686 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-amd64-k8 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-server-bigiron –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-powerpc64-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-sparc64-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-itanium –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-server –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-hppa32-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-amd64-xeon –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-mckinley-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-hppa64-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-hppa64 –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-powerpc –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-powerpc-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-amd64-generic –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-itanium-smp –  2.6.15-52.67
linux-image-2.6.15-52-sparc64 –  2.6.15-52.67

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